Dragon
5a7e5e54c24af4200c3fe8cb4f6b49cb.jpg|Council of Wyrms|link=Council of Wyrms 3f67d761d7f0e791df5b0de3ae718bda.jpg|Platinum Dragon|link=Platinum Dragon 3a304bb17e588078909cd2a17aaec9a9.jpg|Bronze Dragon|link=Bronze Dragon silver_dragon.jpg|Silver Dragon|link=Silver Dragon c833623fba9da1023d0dfd63f35d9e53.jpg|Steel Dragon|link=Steel Dragon Overview Dragons of the Landorian Commonwealth Council of Wyrms Dragons are a fact of life in Landor. While they are rare, their constant inter conflict would assure the world of that even if the constant hunting and culling of their young by other races didn't. The fact that dragons can grow incredibly powerful with age alone is enough motivation for opposing factions to cull them while they are young and more vulnerable. Those that do survive though are the result of a struggle for survival unknown to other races, a struggle that ensures only the most wily or fierce live to give birth to the next generation. Every dragon, once it reaches adulthood, has the genetic drive to claim a 'sphere', a territory, though these are often claimed by existing matriarchs, forcing a competition or battle for supremacy. These challenges can take the form of complex tests spread over decades, for what is time to a creature that is supposedly immortal, or direct confrontation, depending on the nature of the challenger and her relationship to the Matriarch. Matriarchs that claim spheres inhabited by other intelligent races often have accords and agreements in place that ensure that ensure some degree of stability against attack by other dragons. Still, ancient Matriarchs are often loathe to take a direct hand in the dealings of 'lesser' races, bringing their influence and power to bear only when no other option is available. To weaken themselves for the sake of others would be to potentially disturb the delicate balance of power that lies across the continents, and that is not a risk to be taken lightly. Still, it is said that no king or queen can take the throne if it is not the will of a Matriarch. The Landorian Commonwealth is large enough to accommodate the spheres of at least five known Matriarchs, each one with maybe a score of younger adult vassals that directly serve them. Any dragons that are younger than that are simply left to their own devices, to survive or die, in what dragons call 'the Testing'. Even a juvenile dragon,though, is a formidable opponent, usually occupying the top predator spot in it's local territory and not a threat to be taken lightly. If a town or village is lucky enough to fall within the territory of even a young brass or silver dragon, then any potential hunter will also often have to deal with a local populace that will work to defend and protect these benevolent neighbors. Waterdeep is said to fall within the sphere of the ancient bronze dragon Staraxis Kellumthane, though few, if any, commoners can claim to have ever even seen her. Other known Landorian Matriarchs include Bylefire the Black of the Lost Holdings, the patron of Greyhawk, Shivrandar the Silver, Melatheraine the Green of Dankmyre, and Raskas the Brass of Highwold. Not native to the Plane of Eth, dragons originally were born within the 'Faewild', a region of the Divides that it is said that the elves also came from in millennia past. All dragons are said to be born of primal magic itself, direct creations of the divine energies of the Philosophies, and are said to be the physical representation of it's ability to do both good and evil, to create and destroy. It is said that once all the dragons die, so too shall the arcane and divine both. This alone has seen them hunted to extinction on distant continents such as Carashieme. Dragons speak an ancient tongue simply called 'draconic' by other races and though it sees rare use on the Plane of Eth a select few secret societies and cults make use of it. Known Matriarchs The Incursion *Bylefire the Black of the Lost Holdings The Landorian Commonwealth *Staraxis Kellumthane of Waterdeep The Republic of Greyhawk *Shivrandar the Silver of the Free City of Greyhawk *Bylefire the Black of the Lost Holdings, the patron of Greyhawk *Melatheraine the Green of Dankmyre *Raskas the Brass of Highwold. Known Vassals Good Dragon Types *Gold *Silver *Brass *Bronze *Steel *Copper *Sun Evil Dragon Types *Red *Green *Black *Blue *Yellow *White *Shadow Ascended Dragons *Bahumat (Gold) *Paladine (Platinum) *Tiamat Dragon Biology Dragons are able to eat almost everything, but each race has a preferred diet (some prefer flesh, other prefer to eat precious metals or gems, and so forth). Dragons are inherently magical beings, and are warm blooded reptiles. They have no biological relationship to mammals. As far as senses, which vary slightly depending on species, they are superior in most ways to other creatures; like any predator, they have exceptionally acute senses, which only increase with age. Like avian creatures, they have excellent depth perception and comparingly good peripheral vision, able to see twice as well as a human in daylight; unlike avians, they have great night vision, and are able to see even when conditions have no light to offer, although in such conditions they cannot discern between colors. Also, a dragon's hearing is roughly on par with human hearing, although a dragon's mind can filter what noise it hears. They are capable of "blindsense", the sense in which eyes, ears, and other senses are used to detect invisible persons or objects. Dragon taste is also refined, although they do not respond well to sweet flavors, and most dragons do not discuss the matter as to why. Of all its senses, a dragon's sense of touch is the only one to decrease throughout age, thanks mostly to the development of thick, hard scales. Dragon-Kin *Draco-Lich *Dragon Turtle *Drake *Wyvern